xp_logs | Kevin & Darcy

xp_darcy posting in

Kevin makes sure Darcy is ready to get back to work, and brings her back to the mansion.

Darcy had initially been surprised when the car had taken her to Helga's. The self-styled 'House of Discipline' was known to her. She'd done a few shibari nights there, peeked into the playrooms, shared some drinks at the bar. It was a legend in the sexual subculture of the city, and yet, that's where Kevin had sent her. She was taken up an elevator in the staff section to a quiet floor she didn't even know existed. Four fully appointed rooms, as well as a surprisingly expensive bathroom and kitchen area were tucked in. It was the start of several weeks of her belief that she knew the place being turned on its head.

Coming towards the kitchen, there was the murmur of discussion, and she turned the corner to see Helga there at the table, sipping espresso and chatting with Kevin with the casual familiarity of old friends. The woman was in her mid-sixties but easily passed as twenty years younger, with flawless skin and her white blonde hair framing her decidedly Nordic features. Her version of casual was a white cashmere sweater, tailored black slacks, and elegant gold jewelry that you could purchase a luxury used car with. Kevin was in his normal perfectly fitting dark suit, laughing at her comment as he sipped from his cup as Darcy came in.

"Darcy, dear. You have a visitor." Helga said with a warm smile.

"I see that. I feel incredibly underdressed now," Darcy said with a light laugh, rubbing the back of her neck a little awkwardly. She looked much better than she had since she'd fled the mansion, a simple wrap dress and braid with bare feet and no jewelry. She crossed the kitchen until she was at Kevin's side, wrapping a single arm around his shoulders with a gentle squeeze and smile. "Is this a kitchen talk, or would you like to join me in my room?"

"Pour yourself some coffee, Lewis." Kevin said lightly.

"And I need to run some errands." Helga said as she stood up. She put her hand on Darcy's cheek. "I know I was harsh with you, but you have a place here as long as you need, dear." Her blue eyes, pale enough to be gray, locked on her for a moment before she released her. "And Kevin, you need to visit more when you don't need a favour, you beast." She leaned over and kissed his cheek briefly. "It's been ages since we played."

"I promise I'll be by. Thanks again, Helga." Kevin said as she left.

"Miss Helga, hm?" Darcy's eyes twinkled as she poured a small cup of coffee and took a seat. "She wasn't that harsh with me, honestly. Just a bit ruthlessly honest. Reminded me of you, actually. This a work talk, Boss?"

"She's an old friend." Kevin said, taking another sip. "This is just a talk. I need to know if you're ready to come back to work, obviously."

"If I'd known this was one of your haunts, I'd have asked you at my interview if you'd seen any of my shows. Not that it would've mattered for my answer." Darcy took a few sips of coffee as she thought. "Well, my mind is my own. We got out all of the hypnotic suggestions I could remember. My powers have gone wonky though, and I'm probably not medically cleared for the field yet. I didn't.. I wasn't sure if I'd still have a place at work, so I didn't ask."

"Not a haunt. I... don't need a lot of theatre personally. But I've known Helga for four decades." He said. "As for the job, I didn't hire you for your powers. But I need you to be honest if you're ready to come back to the office."

"Absolutely. I've been writing things down as I remember them, and piecing the timeline together as well I can alone. But I miss people, and doing actual work, so yeah. I'm ready to face whatever is in store for me, I think. I'm not gonna have to find alternate housing, am I? I could, I just.." Darcy trailed off, looking at her hands. "I'd miss living with everyone, but I'd deal."

"That isn't what I asked. If you can't come back to the mansion, we'll find you something else. But I need to know if you can come back and do the job."

"Why wouldn't I be able to? Maybe don't have me searching for Laurie unless the goal is us going on another body dumping boat ride, but I can at least do desk work and ask about medical clearance for the field." She took another sip of coffee. "I don't regret getting out, even if that first week here was more miserable than a frat party hangover, but frankly I've been climbing the walls this past week in boredom. Annoyed Helga so much she made me do phones and email for her along with my regular chores."

"Because I need you to tell me you can do it." His gaze was hard and flinty. "I gave you time to get your head together. I need you to tell me if that worked."

Darcy set her cup down with a deliberate slowness, standing and taking the two steps that had her in front of Kevin. She eased his cup out of his hands and set it on the table next to hers before gripping his hands tightly. "Boss. Kevin. You kept me safe. Got me the immediate help I needed to get through what happened to me. There's long term work I'm going to have to do, but I'm ready to sit at my desk and do the work again. I'll go through whatever medical and you or Marie-Ange need for me to get field cleared. I can do it. Would you like me to prove it? I'm not sure how I could, but I'll do it."

"That's good to hear. Marie-Ange will have some questions and we'll have Emma take a look through your head if you agree to it. Make sure there aren't any time bombs left." He said. "As for the mansion, we'll deal with it. I doubt it will be an issue, but if it is, you can come back here for now and we'll figure out something long term. After all, just because your powers are gone doesn't make you any less a mutant."

"That's fine. I'm sure Jean was thorough, but a second look won't hurt me. I just.. I couldn't, when I wasn't sure what was my mind, you understand? The idea of more people crawling around in my mind was just," Darcy broke off with a shudder. "I don't think it would've gone well. And I didn't know the extent of what she'd left behind at the time, or I would've been violently opposed to it. And possibly smothered her in her sleep for doing it to me. I probably wouldn't be welcome back if I actually murdered someone in-house."

"I wouldn't worry. Laurie is going to get what is coming for her." Kevin said. After all, he could have done it when he delivered the letter. But he hadn't trusted his instincts and played nice, waiting for truth. She was out there and that was on him. He'd settle that mistake personally. "You're feeling clear now? Like you can do a proper debrief of what happened? Not right now but... there's a lot of questions and I'd like to fill in the gaps."

"I want to help," Darcy replied immediately. "It was my brain she violated, and I know I can't call dibs or anything silly like that when we're talking about removing a threat, but don't shut me out of helping. Please. And yes, I'm ready to fill in as many gaps as I can. I still have some blank spots. I could do it now but I'd rather be somewhere comfortable with a drink in hand. Your office is okay if that's your preference, though."

"We work as a team. I'm not going to craft some kind of revenge closure with Laurie, but you wouldn't be cut out of the job unless you ask. And you can ask, of course." He said. "We aren't under a specific time pressure. Let's get you home and resituated. Once you're back in the office, we'll take you through everything we've found and you can fill in as much as possible."

Darcy's laugh was a little bitter. "Revenge closure would've been waking up to... I don't know, honestly? Waking up and finding out she could never hurt anyone like that again? My problem, my burden to bear, my job to see all the way through. And yet I've spent nights screaming myself awake with her name and apologies on my tongue, even though the wrongs I did commit weren't against her." She let go of one of Kevin's hands and rubbed her forehead tiredly. "So home? I'll need to do a little cleaning and pack up. Shouldn't take me long, Miss Helga hinted I'd be moving soon.. you beast." A saucy wink accompanied her words, some of her usual spirit shining through the tired as she waved at her head. "Everything in here is super inappropriate right now, I'm so glad you can't actually read my surface thoughts." Her feelings were muted, but curiosity and amusement were near the forefront, pushing back the bitterness and worry.

"You need to stop deciding what the burden you need to bear is. As I said, you're part of a team. We support each other. As for the rest... you'll have plenty of support."

Darcy pressed her lips together. "I-yeah, that's fair. But it's part my burden, even if I don't have to bear it alone. You don't get to decide I don't bear any responsibility here. I'm not-I'm not beating myself up, I'm not trying to drown myself in guilt... Miss Helga ripped me a new one for trying to wallow in it and then Dr. Stearne just reinforced it when we started our appointments last week. Maybe table that until the questions? Who all are you going to want sitting in on that?"

"I never said you didn't bear any responsibility. And you're likely not going to enjoy that as we go through this, it is going to be clear things that could have been avoided if you had been more open and frank with us before Collins could get her hooks in you." Kevin said. "But Helga and Dr. Stearne are right. You got blindsided and betrayed. Even deeply cynical misanthropic bastards like me are still vulnerable to that. We'll work on the parts you can control, and hopefully, you can get past all the feelings regarding the parts you couldn't. And believe me, I doubt there's anyone in the shop that doesn't have some examples in their past of similar issues. Talk to them about it."

Darcy nodded. "I don't know if it would've been possible to avoid, but knowing when I should have said something, even if I didn't have more than just a feeling that something wasn't quite right, would be nice. I can think of a few places, and I owe you an apology for at least one of them, but we can do all of that at once, I think." She took a step back. "Let me go pack and get my room tidy so I'm not leaving Miss Helga a bunch of extra work while you finish your coffee. We can leave after."